Wild BNE

I’ve had such a good year exploring for wildlife! I really pushed myself into new territory, both figuratively as far as my nocturnal and underwater adventures went, and literally as I travelled to the USA. For this list of my favourite encounters, I have only included species that I’ve come across here in South-east Queensland, though rest assured that my time spent amongst black bears, alligators and hummingbirds made a huge impression on me!

LEFT: decorated anemone, RIGHT: green anemone. Last Wednesday I went searching for sea anemones on a rocky shoreline south of Coolum Beach, and found five different species in the rock pools there.

A peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) flies over the rooftops on the Sunshine Coast. 2017 was a great year for adventures in the bush and encounters with incredible wildlife! Here’s some of the creatures, places and events that made an impact on me, and in some cases, the entire region:

Southern boobook; Photo by Matteo Grilli . A group of six nature enthusiasts joined me for a walk around Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve last Sunday, where we were met with a wonderful array of wildlife, plants and fungi.

White-faced heron (Egretta novaeholandiae) , Burpengary East. With the exceedingly hot start we’ve had to 2017, I’ve spent most of my “wildlife time” searching either for frogs in the comparative cool of the night , or in the water looking at fish . This week, however, a slightly cooler, unstable air mass swept in, and I decided to make the most of it with a full day of birding north of Brisbane.

Some of the plants and trees in the reserve — including this wonga vine (Pandorea pandorana) — are ancient. Boardwalk section. In the heat of summer, one of the best places to escape the sun is the rainforest. With this in mind, I’ll be hosting the Wild BNE summer meet-up at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve in Maleny at the end of this month, where we can have great wildlife sightings and not melt into a puddle of sweat! 😎 Flying-fox camp. It will be an early start to maximise the wildlife sightings, of which we can expect plenty. Mary Cairncross is a great place for mammal viewing, and we will be spending time with red-legged pademelons (Thylogale stigmatica) and black flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto) in particular. Rainforest birds abound— over 100 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve ! Some that I am hoping to see include the Australian king-parrot (Alisterus scapularis) , noisy pitta (Pitta versicolor) and russet-tailed thrush (Zoothera heine...

From the Queensland/New South Wales border right up to Noosa, and out west to the Lockyer Valley, I had a great year exploring as much of South-east Queensland as I could manage! Some places stood above the rest, however, offering unique wildlife-viewing opportunities that I hope to take advantage of and share with you in 2017.

I spent 2015 exploring every intriguing corner of South-east Queensland, from the NSW border, right up to the Noosa hinterland and west of the coastal ranges too. So imagine my surprise and hometown pride when some of the top-ranking natural places turned out to be just a short drive away through Brisbane's suburbs! I can't wait to get to know these wildlife hotspots better in 2016— maybe you'd like to join me? 1. Tamborine National Park (MacDonald Section), Eagle Heights. Piccabeen palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana)  groves are particularly stunning to walk through at Mount Tamborine. Tamborine Mountain has long been the getaway of choice for many South-east Queenslanders, and yet for some reason, I've always overlooked it as a wildlife destination. My mistake, because an early morning stroll along the 1.4km rainforest circuit track in the MacDonald section is like wandering through a wildlife metropolis, full of local specialties like the land mullet (Egerni...

Goodbye Sweltering Summer, Hello Wildlife! Whistling Kite (Haliastur sphenurus), Bribie Island I think April might be my favourite month for wildlife watching. It was particularly productive last year  and I've met with similar success just now. I think as animals and birds come out of their spring and summer breeding seasons, their numbers are temporarily boosted and they relax and wander more, leading to increased viewing opportunities.

Having a car and a Driver's license this year greatly increased my scope for potential wildlife locations around South-east Queensland. How ironic then that my number one spot ended up being a tiny reserve near the main road of a busy suburb! Nature always finds a way to surprise me, no matter how well I think I've become acquainted with it. Thank you to each and every one of you who read this blog and/or follow the 'Wild BNE' Facebook page - I've loved sharing my adventures with you this year and look forward to a 'Wild' 2015! 1. Chelsea Street Environmental Reserve, Kippa-Ring. Resident Tawny Frogmouths (Podargus strigoides)  become active in the reserve shortly after sunset. How beautiful that among the swiftly expanding suburbs of the Redcliffe Peninsula, Chelsea Street Environmental Reserve  remains to preserve so much iconic Australian wildlife. Moreton Bay shire residents would do well to ensure that the

To increase my knowledge of the local area as well as my identification skills, I try and head out once a month to a new location to undertake a wildlife survey. Collected and published here are my surveys for 2014, just in case they are of interest to any researchers, surveyors or wildlife enthusiasts.

It goes without saying that the freedom of being able to drive has expanded my wildlife-watching opportunities. I used to be bound by public transport access and timetables, so that only suburban reserves could be explored, usually around mid-morning or late afternoon. Interestingly though, since getting my license, I haven't really used my newfound liberty to head out to the well-known National Parks and wildlife hotspots yet. Instead, I prefer to survey unmarked but intriguing patches of bushland I see on satellite maps, and this is how I came to be walking down a country lane in the Sunshine Coast hinterland at dawn yesterday. Sunrise along Policeman Spur Road, Harper Creek

Storms Appear in BNE Dramatic skies have been a defining feature of Brisbane this November, with the storm season commencing in a major way. Severe thunderstorm, Fortitude Valley; Photo by Meaghan Cook

Julian Rocks Wary in the Water, Surprised in the Rainforest! Wildlife spotting turned a little extreme for me this month! I spent the past weekend in Byron Bay, two hours south of Brisbane in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. The plan was to take my 16-year old niece on her very first snorkelling trip there, with a professional dive company that runs trips out to Julian Rocks. The plan unravelled fairly quickly, with a faulty outboard motor on our boat delaying our group by an hour or so. By the time we had crossed the two-and-a-half kilometre stretch of sea to the island, the previously calm conditions had deteriorated into big swells and a strong current. I was reluctant to get into the dark, swirling depths below, and was equally wary of the waves breaking on the rocky island edge. Amazingly, the tour guide instructed my two teenage companions to get in first, and they were caught in the current almost instantly. My sister and I dismissed all ...

Strong Sunshine and Warmer Nights Though I spent the early part of this month in the Tropics, coming back home to beautiful Brisbane hasn't required too much adjustment weather-wise. September has seen us experience a string of days where the thermometer has reached 32C with ease - well above the 25C long-term average. Such strong sunshine is good weather for butterflies. I saw my first  Fiery Copper